Christmas tournament: Notre Dame rides Tolbert's 40 past Advance

Advance never solved Notre Dame's big man.

Senior Jacob Tolbert muscled his way around the basket and even flashed his range, helping the Bulldogs put away a Hornets squad that refused to go quietly.

Notre Dame advanced to the fifth-place game with Wednesday's 87-71 victory at the Southeast Missourian Christmas tournament.

Tolbert rarely missed Wednesday. He went 16 of 17 from the field (94 percent), including a pair of 3-pointers. His lone hiccup was the free-throw line, where he went 6 of 14 (43 percent).

"Very tough to guard," Advance senior Grant Gray said about Tolbert. "He's a good player all around. You have to stay on him 110 percent any time you're on him."

Notre Dame's Alex Beussink drives against Advance's Darren VanGennip, right, and John Middleton during the third quarter Wednesday.

Tolbert likes to try an occasional 3-pointer to keep the defense honest. He hit both attempts against Advance.

"I'm way too easy to guard if I just stay in the paint the whole time," he said. "I got to pop out, cause whoever is guarding me to come out and guard me. If they don't, then I shoot that shot and get 3s. It opens the middle up and allows other bigs to get scores."

The 6-foot-7 Tolbert finished with a game-high 40 points. He struggled some to get the ball in the first quarter, but that didn't last when he switched his strategy.

"I just went and got the ball, basically," he said. "I was kind of stepping around the post and trying the post because that was our main game plan because they don't have much size. But that wasn't working well. So at times like that I have to go out on the floor and get the ball and try to create and make something happen."

The Hornets kept double-teaming Tolbert when he caught the ball in the paint during the first quarter. The Bulldogs tried to force it a couple of times, which led to a few of their nine turnovers in the opening eight minutes.

Notre Dame fans cheer their team in the game with Advance Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2010 in the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament at the Show Me Center. (Fred Lynch)

Advance enjoyed a 15-11 lead after the first quarter, but that didn't last long. The Hornets pushed their lead to six points before Notre Dame put together a 10-1 run to grab the lead.

The Bulldogs strung together an 11-0 run later in the second quarter to take a 41-32 lead into the intermission.

"We brought a couple guards in that could really handle the ball," Notre Dame coach Kevin Roberts said. "Patrick Williamson and Nathan Meystedt did a tremendous job of getting us the ball up the floor. Once we got the ball up the floor, it's inevitable that Jacob's going to catch it at some point. That's all we needed to do."

Notre Dame never again trailed, but it wasn't easy. The Bulldogs led by 11 points about midway through the third quarter, but Advance stormed back to close within three with 2 minutes, 32 seconds left in the third.

Notre Dame decided that was close enough with a 7-0 run, which included Tolbert's second 3-pointer.

The Bulldogs' lead ballooned to 11 points early in the fourth quarter, but again the Hornets stormed back. A 10-2 run got the Hornets back within three with 5:16 left in the fourth.

"We didn't want to give up," Gray said. "Keep trying."

Not so fast. Notre Dame's 10-0 run ended the suspense.

"We have a tendency that we get too sped up, weren't taking care of the ball," Tolbert said. "We just had to slow down. I think toward the end we held our composure and ended pretty well."

Notre Dame finished the game on a 19-6 run.

"We needed to be the aggressor," Roberts said. "We started being passive and letting them trap us a little bit. Get that ball and go and look to attack. That's what we need to be. Especially against a pressing team like that, the run-and-jump, someone's got to be open."

Gray led the Hornets with 24 points, including five 3-pointers.

"You need to find him," Roberts said about Gray. "You need to know where he is at all times because he can shoot it from long range. He hit a couple over Jacob, which was impressive."

The Hornets shot 42 percent (22 of 52) from the field.

Tolbert's 40 points led the Bulldogs, followed by Nathan Meystedt's 20, which included 14 in the second half. Notre Dame shot 53 percent (30 of 57) from the field.

Notre Dame 11 30 21 25 87

Advance 15 17 23 16 71

NOTRE DAME (87) -- Derek Landewee 2, Jonathan Lynch 4, Nathan Meystedt 20, Joseph Siebert 2, Patrick Williamson 3, Alex Beussink 9, Andrew Lange 2, Matt Patton 2, Jacob Tolbert 40, Cody Heisserer 3. FG 30, FT 24-39, F 25. (3-pointers: Beussink 1, Tolbert 2. Fouled out: Lange, Heisserer)

ADVANCE (71) -- Grant Gray 24, Hunter Wilson 6, John Middleton 16, Darren VanGennip 14, Dylan Dunivan 5, Jacob Spears 6. FG 22, FT 22-31, F 28. (3-pointers: Gray 5. Fouled out: VanGennip, Shoemaker, Wilson)